Sunday, September 23, 2007

Old Guard vs. the New

Andrew Sullivan looks at the differences between Clinton and Obama.

Clinton, in other words, represents payback for the Democrats and liberals after the Bush era, just as Giuliani is emerging as the inheritor of the Bush legacy of divide and rule. Right now, Obama remains to the side, offering Americans something else: not payback, but a new page.

Neither black nor white, neither atheist nor born-again, a candidate who favours withdrawal from Iraq but an offensive against Al-Qaeda in Pakistan, a progressive offering the working poor a tax cut, his bet is that, in the end, America wants to come together again. The unanswerable question is whether America really does.


The primaries are quickly approaching. Whoever gets their party nomination and then the presidency is going to need to unite our nation. I'm not sure any of the current candidates could do this with the exception of Obama.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry, Man. I don't think Obama could unite the nation anymore than any of the others. The bigger question for me is "Is the nation unitable at this point?" Sadly, I say probably not...it would require too much forgiving, much less judgement, and a little integrity as well. Perhaps world circumstances will change the atmosphere later on.

Captain Noble said...

Do you think Obama couldn't forgive and/or lacks judgment and integrity?

Captain Noble said...

I meant to say "would Obama be too judging?"

Anonymous said...

My comments were not necessarily an indictment on Obama (although I'm not convinced of his genuineness), except that he may not be a strong enough personality to unite a nation that is quickly becoming violently more divisive, judgemental, and lacking in any sort of shared values...

Captain Noble said...

Hmmm...I guess I'm getting a different vibe from him. Of all of the Democratic candidates, he is the one that seems the most genuine to me. I also think that he does have the charm and personality to bring people together.

I think that much of the division in our country is 1) overstated (but getting worse) and 2) fueled by the media because stories about conflict seem to generate more interest than everybody hugging and getting along. It's the lowest common denominator thing.

Anonymous said...

"...Of all of the Democratic candidates, he is the one that seems the most genuine to me" -agreed, but that doesn't make him genuine in my book. I'm not sold on any of the Repubs, either. Slim picking this year. I will admit I am probably the least knowledgeable of the candidates this election than I ever have been, though.